Prospector Larche recovering from Aug. 7 plane crash

Timmins prospector John Larche was in Toronto recently while travelling to Florida to recuperate from an Aug. 7 plane crash near High Level, Alta.

Harris Hanson of Kirkland Lake, a close friend and partner of Larche, was killed in the crash. While Hanson’s death still weighs heavily on his mind, Larche says his own recovery is going well.

“I’m doing pretty good,” says Larche, “but the doctors tell me not to take on any heavy workload for the next few months.”

He says he has suffered no disability as a result of the crash. “I’m walking good, my reflexes are good and my memory is reasonably good.” Larche, who piloted the single-engine aircraft at the time of the crash, suffered broken ribs, fractured vertebrae and severe lacerations to his head. “The first people who found me didn’t give me much of a chance,” he says. “I’d been hanging upside down in the airplane for a couple of hours before they got to me.”

The downed airplane was located by an emergency radio transmission. Rescuers parachuted into the remote site to attend to the victims before lifting them out by helicopter.

Larche plans to be back in Toronto for the annual Canadian Mining Hall of Fame dinner in early January and says he looks forward to seeing a lot of his friends.

“And I’m looking forward to getting back out prospecting in the spring, too.”